Method and device for generating and removing dynamic eas using ue app and status

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a communication technique for merging, with an IoT technology, a 5G communication system for supporting a data transmission rate higher than that of a 4G system. The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system, and more specifically, to an application layer network architecture providing an edge computing service in a cellular wireless communication system. According to an embodiment, a method of an EES comprises receiving, from an EEC, a first message including information used to determine matching EAS, and triggering an EAS management system to instantiate the matching EAS in response to receiving the first message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 17/302,610,filed May 7, 2021, which is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§ 119 to Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2020-0055485 and10-2021-0054617, filed on May 8, 2020 and on Apr. 27, 2021, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a device and method for providing anedge computing service, and more particularly, to a device and methodfor providing an edge computing service in a wireless communicationsystem.

2. Description of Related Art

In order to meet the demand for wireless data traffic soring since the4G communication system came to the market, there are ongoing efforts todevelop enhanced 5G communication systems or pre-5G communicationsystems. For the reasons, the 5G communication system or pre-5Gcommunication system is called the beyond 4G network communicationsystem or post LTE system.

For higher data transmit rates, 5G communication systems are consideredto be implemented on ultra-high frequency bands (mmWave), such as, e.g.,60 GHz. To mitigate pathloss on the ultra-high frequency band andincrease the reach of radio waves, the following techniques are takeninto account for the 5G communication system: beamforming, massivemulti-input multi-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), arrayantenna, analog beamforming, and large scale antenna.

Also being developed are various technologies for the 5G communicationsystem to have an enhanced network, such as evolved or advanced smallcell, cloud radio access network (cloud RAN), ultra-dense network,device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network,cooperative communication, coordinated multi-point (CoMP), andinterference cancellation. There are also other various schemes underdevelopment for the 5G system including, e.g., hybrid FSK and QAMmodulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC), whichare advanced coding modulation (ACM) schemes, and filter bankmulti-carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and sparsecode multiple access (SCMA), which are advanced access schemes.

The Internet is evolving from the human-centered connection network bywhich humans create and consume information to the Internet of Things(IoT) network by which information is communicated and processed betweenthings or other distributed components. Another arising technology isthe Internet of Everything (IoE), which is a combination of the Big dataprocessing technology and the IoT technology through, e.g., a connectionwith a cloud server. To implement the IoT, technology elements, such asa sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infra,service interface technology, and a security technology, are required.There is a recent ongoing research for inter-object connectiontechnologies, such as the sensor network, Machine-to-Machine (M2M), orthe Machine-Type Communication (MTC).

In the IoT environment may be offered intelligent Internet Technology(IT) services that collect and analyze the data generated by the thingsconnected with one another to create human life a new value. The IoT mayhave various applications, such as the smart home, smart building, smartcity, smart car or connected car, smart grid, health-care, or smartappliance industry, or state-of-art medical services, through conversionor integration of existing information technology (IT) techniques andvarious industries.

Thus, there are various ongoing efforts to apply the 5G communicationsystem to the IoT network. For example, the sensor network,machine-to-machine (M2M), machine type communication (MTC), or other 5Gtechniques are implemented by schemes, such as beamforming, multi-inputmulti-output (MIMO), and array antenna schemes. The above-mentionedapplication of the cloud radio access network (RAN) as a big dataprocessing technique may be said to be an example of the convergence ofthe 5G and IoT technologies.

Meanwhile, the 3GPP, which is in charge of cellular mobile communicationstandardization, has named the new core network structure 5G core (5GC)and standardized the same to promote the evolution from the legacy4^(th) generation long term evolution (4G LTE) system to the 5G system.

5GC may support the following differentiated functions as compared tothe evolved packet core (EPC), which is the legacy network core for 4G.

First, 5GC adopts the network slicing function. 5GC is required tosupport various types of UEs and services. For example, such servicesmay include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latencycommunications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC).

These UEs/services have different requirements for the core network. Forexample, the eMBB service may require a high data rate while the URLLCservice may require high stability and low latency. Network slicing istechnology provided to meet such various requirements.

Network slicing is a method for creating multiple logical networks byvirtualizing one physical network, and the network slice instances(NSIs) may have different characteristics. Therefore, various servicerequirements may be met by allowing each NSI to have a network function(NF) suited for characteristics of each NSI. Accordingly, various 5Gservices may be efficiently supported by allocating an NSI meetingrequired service characteristics for each UE.

Second, 5GC may seamlessly support the network virtualization paradigmby separating the mobility management function and the sessionmanagement function. In legacy 4G LTE, all UEs may receive services overthe network through signaling exchange with a single core device calledthe mobility management entity (MME) in charge of registration,authentication, mobility management and session management functions.

However, in 5G, the number of UEs explosively increases and mobility andtraffic/session characteristics that need to be supported according tothe type of UE are subdivided. Resultantly, if all functions aresupported by a single device, such as MME, the scalability of addingentities for each required function may decrease. Accordingly, variousfunctions are under development based on a structure that separates themobility management function and the session management function toenhance the scalability in terms of function/implementation complexityof the core equipment in charge of the control plane and the signalingload.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, there is provided a device and method forproviding an edge computing service in a wireless communication system.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a method and device ofdynamic EAS instantiation using UE app statuses.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a method and device thatmay instantiate the EAS associated with a UE's app at the time when theUE uses the app.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a method and device forreporting the AC status used to instantiate the EAS associated with theUE's AC.

In accordance with an embodiment, a method of an EES comprisesreceiving, from an EEC, a first message including information used todetermine matching EAS; and triggering an EAS management system toinstantiate the matching EAS in response to receiving the first message.

In accordance with an embodiment, an EES comprises a transceiver; and aprocessor configured to control the transceiver to receive, from an edgeenabler client (EEC), a first message including information used todetermine matching edge application server (EAS); and trigger an EASmanagement system to instantiate the matching EAS in response toreceiving the first message.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented orsupported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed fromcomputer readable program code and embodied in a computer readablemedium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or morecomputer programs, software components, sets of instructions,procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or aportion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computerreadable program code. The phrase “computer readable program code”includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code,and executable code. The phrase “computer readable medium” includes anytype of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as readonly memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, acompact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type ofmemory. A “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired,wireless, optical, or other communication links that transporttransitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computerreadable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored andmedia where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as arewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantaspects thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an application network architecture and interfacesupporting edge computing according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a subscription request procedure forAC status and AC traffic status reporting according to an embodiment 1of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for AC status and ACtraffic status detection and reporting according to an embodiment 2 ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A and 4B is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for AC statusand AC traffic status reporting in an EEC registration process accordingto an embodiment 3-1 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for dynamicallyinstantiating an EAS by an EES according to an embodiment 3-2 of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a status transition for a UE appstatus according to a user's work according to an embodiment 4 of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a status transition for a UE apptraffic status according to an embodiment 5 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a UE accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a serveraccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 9 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure are described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. When determined tomake the subject matter of the present disclosure unclear, the detaileddescription of the known art or functions may be skipped. The terms asused herein are defined considering the functions in the presentdisclosure and may be replaced with other terms according to theintention or practice of the user or operator. Therefore, the termsshould be defined based on the overall present disclosure.

Hereinafter, the base station may be an entity allocating resource toterminal and may be at least one of eNodeB, Node B, base station (BS),radio access network (RAN), access network (AN), RAN node, wirelessaccess unit, base station controller, or node over network. The terminalmay include UE (user equipment), MS (mobile station), cellular phone,smartphone, computer, or multimedia system capable of performingcommunication functions. According to the present disclosure, downlink(DL) may refer to a wireless transmission path of signal transmittedfrom the base station to the terminal, and uplink (UL) refers to awireless transmission path of signal transmitted from the terminal tothe base station.

Although a post-LTE system is described below in connection withembodiments of the present disclosure, as an example, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may also apply to other communication systems withsimilar technical background or channel form. Further, embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be modified in such a range as not tosignificantly depart from the scope of the present disclosure under thedetermination by one of ordinary skill in the art and such modificationsmay be applicable to other communication systems (e.g., LTE or LTE-Asystems).

FIG. 1 illustrates an application network architecture 100 supportingedge computing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a UE 101 may include at least one applicationclient (AC) 102 and an edge enabler client (EEC) 103. The applicationclient 102 may be an application-level client for providing to the userwhen an edge computing service is provided.

Further, the UE 101 may include a communication processor (CP) (notshown in FIG. 1 ) for communicating with another wireless communicationnetwork, e.g., at least one or more mobile communication networks.

The 3GPP network 104 is illustrated as a representative of mobilecommunication networks, and may include, e.g., an EPC and/or a 5GC. The3GPP network 104 may include base stations that communicate directlywith the UE 101 over-the-air (OTA) and may include a higher-level corenetwork configuration. When the 3GPP network includes a 5GC, it mayinclude an access and mobility management function (AMF), a sessionmanagement function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), and a userplane function (UPF).

Further, when having an EPC as a core network (CN), it may includenetwork nodes corresponding to the 5GC.

Edge data networks may be implemented through a network slicingtechnique, and all edge data networks may be configured in the sameform. A configuration of one edge data network 105 is described as anexample, which may include an edge hosting platform and may include anedge enabler server (EES) 107, one or more edge application servers(EASs) 106, and an orchestrator for the edge hosting platform. The edgeenabler server 106 may include an edge enabler client manager, an edgeenabler platform, and an edge enabler application programming interface(API) server.

Network functions may be defined as follows, some of which areillustrated in FIG. 1 .

3GPP network 104 may include a 3GPP radio access network (RAN) and acore network.

One or more edge data networks 105 are data networks of 5G core networkor packet data networks of EPC network and may be data networksincluding functions for providing an edge computing service, such as anedge hosting platform edge enabler server.

Application client (AC) 102 may be an application program running on themobile operating system of the UE 101 and may be identified by anapplication identifier on the 5G core network. In an environmentproviding a mobile operating system, the AC may be identified by theoperating system (OS) identifier and the unique application identifier(OSAppID) for each OS.

One or more edge application servers 106 may be an application serverprograms running on a virtualization container or a virtual machine (VM)image operated on an edge hosting environment and may be server programsexecuted as the VM image is instantiated and may be called edgeapplications.

Edge configuration server 108 may be a server providing configurationinformation about the edge data network 105 to the UE 101 and may be aninitial access server that may receive configuration information for theUE 101 to use a mobile edge computing (MEC) service.

Edge hosting platform may be platform software including avirtualization layer that may execute a plurality of edge applicationprograms. In the present disclosure, the terms “edge hosting platform”and “edge hosting environment” have the same concept and may beinterchangeably used.

Orchestrator for edge hosting platform may be a management system thatmanages the lifecycle for edge application programs running on the edgehosting platform and manages the edge hosting platform. It may performthe function of the orchestrator defined in the Europeantelecommunication standards institute management and network operation(ETSI MANO).

Edge enabler server (EES) 107 may be a server for providing an edgecomputing service and may be a server that provides the UE 101 with alist of application programs available on the edge hosting platform(edge enabler client manager), manages configuration information aboutthe edge application programs operated on the edge computing hostingplatform, and provides an API for the function provided from the 3GPPnetwork to the edge application programs.

Edge enabler client (EEC) 103 may be a software module of the UE 101 andmay be a software agent having functions for providing an edge computingservice. It may perform authentication function for the UE to access theedge computing server, and it may be a software agent by which the UE101 receives the information provided from the edge hosting platformwhile interworking with the edge enabling server 107, performs a routingnecessary for the UE application program, and provides information tothe UE application program.

The application network architecture for supporting edge computing asshown in FIG. 1 may be managed by a separate edge computing serviceprovider from the mobile communication service provider, and there maybe a plurality of separate edge computing service providers in onemobile communication service provider network. The application networkarchitecture for supporting edge computing as shown in FIG. 1 maysupport the service provider's configuration.

The application network architecture shown in FIG. 1 may support aplurality of edge computing service providers in one mobilecommunication network. The application network architecture may transfera plurality of edge computing service providers available in one mobilecommunication network and configuration information for accessing theedge computing network installed by the service provider to the UE.

The application network architecture shown in FIG. 1 may transfer anedge network service provider selected by the mobile communicationservice provider among the plurality of edge computing service providerspresent in one mobile communication network and configurationinformation for accessing the edge computing network installed by theselected edge network service provider to the UE.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. Thepresent disclosure may relate to a method and device for providing twoscenarios, as follows, for a service provider to install a flexible edgenetwork and implementing the same.

In one embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, a service subscriptionprocedure is provided for an app screen control change, app trafficdetection, and app domain name system (DNS) request detection reportingdue to an AC status, e.g., AC installation, start, or the user's action,from the EAS.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a subscription request procedure 200for AC status and AC traffic status reporting according to an embodiment1 of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the EAS 201 sends a request for AC status/statuschange reporting and/or AC traffic status/status change reporting to theEES 202 (e.g., operation 211).

In this case, the status report request message may be a one-time reportrequest or may be a report request for a status change of a designatedAC for each EEC (or for each GPSI).

When the EES 201 receives the request for AC status/status change and/orAC traffic status/status change, if the request is not a one-timerequest, the EES 201 receives a report and expiration condition for atarget UE or target EEC list, AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change, allocates a transaction identifier for thecorresponding report, and records such information. When a correspondingevent report is received in the future, information by which therequester of the event report may be identified is retained together.

When the event subscription is successfully complete, the EES 202transfers a response message for the report request to the EAS 201(e.g., operation 213). When the report is not a one-time report and theevent reporting condition and expiration condition are contained in therequest message, the transaction identifier information allocated inoperation 212 which may identify the subscription request may beincluded and transferred.

According to an embodiment, the EES 202 which has already received areport for the status of the plurality of ACs from the one or more EECsidentifies the status for the ACs of the EEC or EECs requested from theEAS 201 (e.g., operation 212). The EES 202 reports the identified ACstatus of the EEC to the EAS 201. In this case, the EES 202 transfers anAC status report including information about the AC status and/or EECmatching the condition for the requested AC and AC status, along withthe response message of operation 214, to the EAS 201.

When the EAS 201 receiving the AC status report including theinformation about the AC status and/or the EEC (and the UE) is anorchestrator, the orchestrator may use the status information about therelated AC in instantiating, load-balancing, scaling-in, or scaling-outthe EAS.

The EES 202 which transfers the response message in operation 213 mayperform a subscription request procedure described in connection withoperations 215 and 216 for the AC status report or AC traffic statusreport on at least one EEC 203, for registered EECs (e.g., operation214).

The EES 202 transfers a subscription request message for the AC statusinformation to the EEC 203 (e.g., operation 215). The subscriptionrequest message for the AC status and/or AC traffic status informationreport includes at least one of an AC list, an AC status report eventlist, edge awareness information for the AC, EAS service areainformation, an AC status report type, an AC status report indicator, ACstatus reporting subscription information, or an AC status triggercondition.

The subscription request message may also include whether the report isa one-time report or continuous report and, if the report is acontinuous report, a condition for completing the report (e.g., themaximum number of times of reporting, the period during which themaximum number of times of reporting may be reported, and the number ofoccurrences of an event for the reporting complete time). The AC statusreport event list may include AC status information and AC status changeinformation and AC traffic status and AC traffic status changeinformation by which it may be predicted whether traffic is generatedbetween the AC and the EAS. For example, the AC status information isdescribed below in connection with an embodiment 4. The statusinformation for AC traffic is described below in connection with anembodiment 5.

Upon receiving the subscription request message for the AC statusinformation report, the EEC 203 transmits a response message for thesubscription request message to the EES 202 if the subscription requestfor the AC status information report of the EES 202 is successfullyregistered (e.g., operation 216). When the subscription request for theAC status information report is a one-time request, the EEC 203 maytransmit the AC status information together with the response message.

In one embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, a procedure is providedfor the EEC to report the status of the AC to the EES that has requestedthe AC status report when the AC status is changed to a status matchingthe reporting condition according to the AC status and AC status changereport service and/or AC traffic status and AC traffic status changereport service subscribed to in the embodiment 1 of the presentdisclosure. Upon receiving a report of a change in the UE's AC status,the EES reports the current AC status change of the UE to the EASrequesting the AC status change report. The AC status change report maybe used for the orchestrator to generate a new instance (instantiation)for the EAS or to remove an existing instance generated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure 300 for AC status and ACtraffic status detection and reporting according to an embodiment 2 ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3 , an EEC 303 may obtain an AC status and/or ACtraffic status or detect an AC status change or AC traffic status change(e.g., operation 311). AC status change refers to an AC status that ischanged on the mobile operating system due to the user's action. The ACstatus and status change may have statuses including the followingattributes as shown in FIG. 6 and the embodiment 4 of the presentdisclosure described below.

-   -   A status according to whether an AC 302 is installed on the        mobile operating system in the UE 301.    -   A status according to whether the AC 302 is performed or not on        the mobile operating system in the UE 301.    -   Statuses which are divided into a foreground or background        status or a visible or invisible status depending on whether the        AC 302 is displayed on the user screen on the mobile operating        system, whether the AC 302 has the right to control the user        screen, or whether the AC 302 has the right to control user        interaction.

A change in AC status may have the characteristic of status movement inwhich the AC 302 generated by the user's action on the mobile operatingsystem is installed, executed, paused, terminated, and the AC 302 ismoved to the foreground screen or background screen.

As an example of the status having the characteristics of the AC statusand status change, there may be a status and status transition method asin the embodiment 4 described below.

In operation 215 of FIG. 2 , upon receiving a report request for astatus change of the AC, the EEC 303 may detect a status change of theAC, such as installing, starting to execute, stopping executing,terminating, or changing to a visible or invisible status the requestedAC.

When a movement of the AC to a specific status is requested as areporting condition in operation 215 of FIG. 2 , the EEC may detect themovement of the AC to the specific status.

The AC traffic status and status change may have statuses including thefollowing attributes as shown in FIG. 7 and the embodiment 5 describedbelow.

-   -   A status as to whether application traffic may be generated        without the user's intervention or not. Examples of such status        may be divided into application traffic not ready or application        traffic ready.    -   A status as to whether an application is installed on the UE's        operating system or executed on the mobile operating system.        Examples of such status may be divided into application        unavailable, application inactive, and application traffic        ready.    -   An application traffic generation status which may be divided        into whether application traffic is to be generated soon, has        already been generated, or whether it is a dormant period during        which no traffic is generated. Examples of such status may        include application traffic dormant, application traffic coming,        and application traffic exchanging.

The AC traffic status change may have the characteristic of statusmovement that the AC's traffic generation or readiness for generation isdetected and is moved. An example of the status having thecharacteristic of the AC traffic status and status transition may have astatus and status transition method as in the embodiment 5 describedbelow.

In operation 215 of FIG. 2 , upon receiving a request for reporting thestatus change of AC traffic, the EEC 303 may detect a change in the ACtraffic ready status, e.g., a change from AC traffic not ready to ACtraffic ready, or a change in AC traffic status between AC trafficdormant, AC traffic coming, and AC traffic generation statuses. Forexample, the AC traffic dormant status may transition to the applicationtraffic coming status when a DNS query occurs from the AC or a DNS queryfor the destination EAS occurs. When the application traffic generatedfrom the AC is detected or when generation of application traffic fromthe AC to the destination EAS is detected, the application trafficdormant status is changed to the application traffic exchange status.

When a movement of the AC traffic status to a specific status isrequested as a reporting condition in operation 215 of FIG. 2 , the EEC303 may detect the movement of the AC to the specific status.

Upon detecting a movement of the AC status to a status meeting thereporting condition, a change in the AC status, a movement of the ACtraffic status to a status meeting the reporting condition, or a changein the AC traffic status, the EEC 303 may transmit an AC status/statuschange and/or AC traffic status/status change report message to the EES304 (e.g., operation 312). The AC status and/or AC traffic status reportmessage may include at least one of an EEC identifier, an AC identifierlist to be reported, a differentiator for distinguishing the transactionfor subscription request from the others, per-AC identifier AC statusinformation, per-AC identifier AC traffic status information, when theAC status is changed, per-AC identifier AC prior status information,when the AC traffic status is changed, prior status information of ACtraffic per AC identifier, when traffic having a specific EAS as thedestination, an identifier for the specific EAS, or fully qualifieddomain name (FQDN) information, IP address information, or uniformresource locator (URL) information for the specific EAS. The ACstatus/status change report and/or AC traffic status/status changereport message may be transferred along with an EAS discovery procedure.

According to an embodiment, upon receiving a report of the ACstatus/status change and/or AC traffic status/status change from the EEC303, the EES 304 may request the orchestrator and perform a presetprocedure (e.g., operation 313). The preset procedure may include theoperation of invoking the API managing the lifecycle of the EAS 305, theoperation of performing a report for the AC status/status change and/orAC traffic status/status change on the UE's AC in a designated place, orthe operation of determining and reporting a scale-in or scale-out onthe EAS corresponding to the AC. Further, the preset procedure mayinclude at least one of the operation of instantiating the EES instanceaccording to the AC status/status change and/or AC traffic status/statuschange to the orchestrator operating as an EAS, the operation ofadditionally instantiating the EES instance, or the operation ofdeleting the EES instance. When operation 313 is performed, operations211 and 214 of FIG. 2 may be omitted.

Upon receiving the AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change from the EEC 303, the EES 304 reports at least oneof the AC status information, AC status change information, AC trafficstatus information, or AC traffic status change information to the EAS305 or orchestrator that has requested to report the AC status/statuschange and/or AC traffic status/status change (e.g., operation 314). TheEES 304 may provide a report including information about the EAS 305corresponding to the AC 302 to the orchestrator. The EAS 305corresponding to the AC 302 means an application server providing aservice for the AC 302.

Upon receiving the AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change report, the orchestrator may obtain information forthe EAS 305 corresponding to the AC 302 and perform operations for,e.g., generating, adding, and deleting the EAS instance (e.g., operation315).

In one embodiment 3-1, the EES receives an AC status and AC trafficstatus reporting subscription request of the UE from the EAS, and theEES records the subscription request.

While the EEC registers in the EES, the EES identifies whether the EECbelongs to targets for AS status and/or AC traffic status reporting and,if the EEC belongs to the targets for reporting, transfers aregistration response message including the target AC list, conditioninformation for the target AC, whether the report request is a one-timestatus report request, a reporting condition including a condition andexpiration condition, and an identifier for identifying the reportingsubscription to the EEC. Upon receiving the AC status/status changeand/or AC traffic status/status change report from the EEC, the EEStransfers the reported status to the EAS or orchestrator requesting thereport. The EES may directly determine an increase/decrease in thenumber of instances and instantiation to the EAS corresponding to the ACor transfer a message to the orchestrator, thereby performing aprocedure for determining whether the EAS instantiates or whether toincrease or decrease the number of instances of the EAS.

FIGS. 4A and 4B is a flowchart illustrating an AS status and/or ACtraffic status report procedure during an EEC registration processaccording to an embodiment 3-1 of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the EAS 401 sends a request for ACstatus/status change reporting and/or AC traffic status/status changereporting to the EES 402 (e.g., operation 411).

In this case, the status report request message may be a one-time reportrequest or may be a report request for a status change of a designatedAC for each EEC (or for each GPSI).

When the EES 402 receives the request for AC status/status change and/orAC traffic status/status change, if the request is not a one-timerequest, the EES 201 receives a report and expiration condition for atarget UE or target EEC list, AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change, allocates a transaction identifier for thecorresponding report, and records such information (operation 412). Whena corresponding event report is received in the future, information bywhich the requester of the event report may be identified is retainedtogether.

When the event subscription is successfully complete, the EES 402transfers a response message for the report request to the EAS 401(e.g., operation 413). When a report is not a one-time report and theevent reporting condition and expiration condition are contained in therequest message, the transaction identifier information allocated inoperation 412 which may identify the subscription request may beincluded and transferred.

According to an embodiment, the EES 402 which has already received areport for the status of the plurality of ACs from the one or more EECsidentifies the status for the ACs of the EEC or EECs requested from theEAS 401 (e.g., operation 212). The EES 202 reports the identified ACstatus of the EEC to the EAS 201. In this case, the EES 202 transfers anAC status report including information about the AC status and/or EECmatching the condition for the requested AC and AC status, along withthe response message of operation 413, to the EAS 201.

The EEC 403 performs a procedure for registration in the EES 402according to a designated condition. When the UE moves to an area wherethe EES 402 is provided or when the EEC receives selection informationfor the EES from the ECS and the EEC selects the EES, as the designatedcondition, the EEC 403 performs a procedure for registration in the EES402. When the EEC 403 performs a procedure for registration in the EES402, the EEC 403 may include all or some of AC lists installed on the UEin a registration request message and transfer the same (operation 414).The EEC 403 in the UE may include, in the registration request message,at least one of an AC identifier, an EEC type (an indicator as towhether the EEC is downloadable or embedded), an indicator as to whetheran AC status/status change and/or AC traffic status/status change reportfunction is supported, a supported AC status/status change and/or ACtraffic status/status change list, or a mobile operating systemidentifier and transfer the same to the EES 402.

The EES 402 receives the registration request message from the EEC 403.Upon receiving the registration request message, the EES 402 mayidentify an available EAS list corresponding to each AC list. Further,the EES 402 may identify whether the EEC 403 belongs to targets for ASstatus and/or AC traffic status reporting. Whether the EEC 403 belongsto targets for reporting may be identified through the followinginformation:

-   -   EEC identifier;    -   identifier of the UE equipped with the EEC. For example, the        number of the UE device, such as the permanent equipment        identifier (PEI);    -   Subscriber information for the UE equipped with the EEC,        (generic public subscription identifier (GPSI));    -   Location information for the UE (e.g., location information in        3GPP or data network access (DNA) identifier, GPS coordinate        information, or address information, such as lot number,        building number, etc.);    -   Service area information for the UE; and/or    -   IP address information for the UE.

When the EEC 403 belongs to targets for reporting, the EES 402designates a target AC for the UE. The target AC may include a list ofAC identifiers or condition information for the target AC. Conditionsfor the target AC may include the following examples:

-   -   Information in which the AC ID is expressed in regular        expression among ACs installed on the UE or running ACs, e.g.,        com.example;    -   List of ACs newly installed on the UE;    -   List of ACs newly executed on the UE;    -   List of all ACs in the visible status among the apps currently        running on the UE; and    -   List of ACs that transition from the invisible status to the        visible status among the apps currently executed on the UE.

When the EEC 403 belongs to targets for reporting, the EES 402 transmitsa response message for the registration request to the EEC 403(operation 416). The response message includes at least one of an AClist, an AC status report event list, edge awareness information for theAC, EAS service area information, an AC status report type, an AC statusreport indicator, AC status reporting subscription information, or an ACstatus trigger condition.

Upon receiving the response message, the EEC 403 identifies whether thereport is a one-time report and, if the report is a one-time report, theEEC 403 performs reporting only one time.

If there is a condition for the report, the EEC 403 records theidentifier for identifying the EEC subscription request, reportingcondition, and expiration condition and records a condition fortriggering the reporting condition and expiration condition.

The EEC 403 identifies the reporting conditions for currently installedACs (operation 417).

For the installed ACs, the EEC 403 identifies the reporting conditionand, when the reporting condition is met, transfers an AS status reportand/or AC traffic status report message to the EES 402 (operation 418).The message transferred to the EES 402 may include at least one of theEEC identifier, an AC identifier list to be reported, differentiator fordistinguishing the subscription-requested transaction from the others,AC status information per AC identifier, when the AC is changed, ACprior status per AC identifier, AC traffic status per AC identifier, orwhen AC traffic is changed, AC traffic prior status information per ACidentifier. When the reporting condition is met, and the report requestis a one-time request, reporting is performed only once. When the reportrequest received from the EES 402 is not a one-time request, and itincludes both the reporting condition and the expiration condition, theEEC 403 may record the report request and, when the reporting conditionis met, perform operation 418. When an event that meets the reportexpiration condition occurs, no further report is made, and the recordedreport request is deleted.

When the EAS 401 or orchestrator requests AC status/status change and/orAC traffic status/status change reporting through operation 411, the EES402 may transfer the information reported from the EEC 403 to thecorresponding EAS 401 or orchestrator (operation 420-1). The EAS 401 ororchestrator may receive the AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change report from the EES 402 and determine an operationfor generating, adding, deleting, upgrading, or downgrading an EASinstance related to the AC (e.g., operation 420-2).

According to an embodiment, upon receiving the AS status/status changeand/or AC traffic status from the EEC 403, the EES 402 may perform apreset procedure (e.g., operation 419). The preset procedure may includethe operation of invoking the API managing the lifecycle of the EAS 401or the operation of performing AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change reporting on the UE's AC in a designated place.When operation 419 is performed by the EEC 402, operations 411 and 413may be omitted.

When the preset procedure in the EES 402 includes an operation foradding, generating, or deleting an EAS instance according to the ACstatus/status change and/or AC traffic status/status change, the EES 402may determine whether to scale in or scale out the EAS corresponding tothe AC (e.g., operation 421-1). Scale-out is an operation for increasingthe number of EAS instances, and scale-in is an orchestration operationfor the EAS 401 to reduce the number of EAS instances. The EES 402 maytransfer a request for the determined scale-out or scale-in to the EAS401 or the orchestrator (e.g., operation 421-2).

Upon reporting the AC status/status change and/or AC trafficstatus/status change according to the preset procedure, the EES 402 mayperform context registration or release on the EAS 401 corresponding tothe orchestrator (e.g., operation 422). For example, when the AC statusevent reported from the EEC 403 is an AC start event or AC trafficstart-soon event, it may perform a context registration or releaseprocedure on the EAS 401 corresponding to the AC. The orchestrator thatreceives a request for context registration or release on the EAS 401may generate a new EAS instance or perform the function of increasing ordecreasing the number of existing EAS instances.

In one embodiment 3-2 of the present disclosure, a method is providedfor allowing an EAS corresponding to an AC to be dynamicallyinstantiated, in which an EES receives an AC profile (including an ACID) associated with the EAS through a registration request from an EAS,determines a trigger condition under which the EEC needs to transmit adiscovery request when the EEC sends a registration request, transmits atrigger condition to perform EAS discovery to the EEC and then receivesan EAS discovery request message from the EEC detecting a status changein the AC.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for dynamicallyinstantiating an EAS by an EES according to an embodiment 3-2 of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5 , an EAS 501 transmits a registration requestmessage to an EES 502 to perform an EAS registration procedure (e.g.,operation 511). According to an embodiment, the EAS registrationprocedure may be performed, instead of an EAS, by an orchestratormanaging an edge hosting environment when the EAS capable ofinstantiation is managed in the edge hosting environment. In this case,the EAS registration procedure may be performed by an orchestrator thatmanages the life cycle of the EAS 501 through the edge hostingenvironment on behalf of the EAS 501. When the orchestrator performs theregistration procedure, the EAS ID does not refer to the ID of aspecific instance but may collectively refer to a plurality ofinstantiated EAS instances. When the orchestrator performs theregistration process, the EAS ID refers to a comprehensive EAS, andmultiple instantiated EAS entities have the same EAS ID. According toanother embodiment, the registration procedure performed on the EES 502by the EAS 501 may be performed by the EAS of a new instance. In thiscase, the EAS registration procedure may be performed to register anewly instantiated EAS instance to allow the EES 502 to discover anotherEES or an EAS instance available to the EEC 503. The registrationrequest message transmitted from the EAS 501 to the EES 502 may includeat least one of an EAS ID or information about an AC where the EAS 501provides a service, that is, an AC profile. The AC profile may includeadditional information about the AC along with the AC ID. Further, theregistration request message transmitted from the EAS 501 to the EES 502may include URL information for the orchestrator. The EES 502 stores andmanages the EAS ID and/or AC profile information included in theregistration request message received from the EAS 501 (operation 512).Upon receiving the registration request message from the EAS 501, theEES 502 transmits a message responsive to the registration requestmessage to the EAS 501 (e.g., operation 513).

Referring continuously to FIG. 5 , the EEC 503 transmits a registrationrequest message to the EES 502 to perform a registration procedure forthe EES 502 (e.g., operation 514). The registration request messagetransmitted from the EEC 503 to the EES 502 includes an EEC ID, an EECtype (e.g., an identifier indicating whether it is of an embedded typeor an AC type), an operating system ID, the IDs of ACs currentlyinstalled on the UE, and/or a list of ACs associated for the EEC 503 tocurrently provide an edge computing service, or an ID list of ACsinstalled on the UE which may be currently identified by the EEC 503,and/or an ID list of ACs running on the UE which may be currentlyidentified by the EEC 502.

According to an embodiment, when the EEC 503 supports the EAS discoverytrigger condition, the EEC 503 may include an EAS discovery triggercapability indicator in the registration request message transmitted tothe EES 502.

Upon receiving the registration request message from the EEC 503, theEES 502 identifies the AC list transmitted from the UE. The EES 502identifies an available EAS list corresponding to the AC listtransmitted from the UE and determines a trigger condition to performEAS discovery for the corresponding EAS (e.g., operation 515). Such atrigger condition may be previously set in the EES 502 or may beinformation received through the ECS or a separate policy server. As anexample, the trigger condition may be set in the EES 502 through anauthorization setting response message during a service authorizationsetting (e.g., service provisioning) process, from the ECS.

According to an embodiment, conditions for triggering EAS discovery mayinclude all or some of the following conditions:

-   -   When an AC is newly installed or reinstalled in the UE;    -   When the AC installed on the UE changes into an execution        status;    -   When the AC sends a request for use of edge computing to the        EEC;    -   When the AC detects traffic sending traffic to the EAS;    -   When the AC performs DNS query to send traffic to the EAS;    -   AC status described in connection with the 4th embodiment (as        exists);    -   Change in AC status described in connection with the 4th        embodiment;    -   AC traffic status described in connection with the 5th        embodiment; and/or    -   When the AC traffic status changes as described in connection        with the embodiment 5.

Each item of the above-described EAS discovery trigger conditions may bedesignated as an EAS discovery trigger indicator index as illustrated inTable 1 below.

TABLE 1 EAS discovery trigger indicator index Index EAS DiscoveryTrigger Conditions 1 When an AC is newly installed or reinstalled in theUE, 2 When the AC installed on the UE changes into an execution status,3 When the AC detects traffic sending traffic to the EAS 4 When the ACperforms DNS query to send traffic to the EAS 5 Change in AC status 6Change in AC traffic status

In response to the registration request message received from the EEC503, the EES 502 transmits a registration response message containingthe EAS discovery trigger condition (e.g., EAS discovery triggerindicator index information indicating the EAS discovery triggercondition) to the EEC 503 (e.g., operation 516).

According to an embodiment, when the EAS discovery trigger condition isa change in traffic status or a specific AC status, the EES 502 maytransmit the corresponding AC ID together to the UE or an EAS ID listcorresponding to the AC ID to the UE.

While the EEC 503 registers in the EES 502, the EES 502 may transmit anEEC registration response message including at least one of thefollowing information to the EEC 503:

-   -   A list of currently available EASs in the list of ACs installed        on UE, received from the EEC 503;    -   A list of EASs that may be currently EAS-instantiated in the        list of ACs installed on the UE, received from the EEC 503;    -   EAS discovery trigger condition information for AC;    -   A list of EASs that have requested EAS instantiation dynamically        through EAS discovery in the list of EASs registered in the EES        502; or    -   A list of ACs corresponding to the EAS 501 that have requested        EAS instantiation dynamically.

According to an embodiment, the EEC 503 may provide a function ofdetecting the EAS discovery trigger or may support a function oftransmitting an EAS discovery request according to the EAS discoverytrigger condition received from the EES 502.

Upon receiving the registration response message from the EES 502, theEEC 503 identifies at least one of the following contents:

-   -   detection of change in AC status;    -   detection of the AC using traffic connection with the EAS 501;        or    -   detection of the AC to transmit traffic to the EAS 501.

The identification procedure by the EEC 503 as described abovecorresponds to a procedure for identifying whether the EEC 503 meets theEAS discovery trigger condition included in the registration responsemessage (e.g., operation 517).

Upon receiving the EAS discovery trigger condition included in theregistration response message from the EES 502, the EEC 503 transmits anEAS discovery request message to the EES 502 when the EAS discoverytrigger condition is met (e.g., operation 518). The EAS discoveryrequest message transmitted from the EEC 503 to the EES 502 may includethe following information:

-   -   An EEC ID;    -   A list of IDs of ACs installed or running;    -   A list of AC profiles including the status of AC; and/or    -   An EAS discovery trigger indicator index (corresponding to,        e.g., the index shown in Table 1) when an EAS discovery request        message is transmitted as the EAS discovery trigger condition is        met.

According to another embodiment, even when the EAS discovery triggercondition is not received, if there is the EEC 502's own setting or theoperator's setting, and the following conditions are met, the EEC 502may transmit an EAS discovery request message to the EES 502.

When the AC status changes as described in connection with theembodiment 4, more specifically:

-   -   ▪ When an AC is newly installed (i.e., the AC status changes        into an installed status);    -   ▪ When the AC changes into a running status;    -   ▪ When the AC changes into the foreground; and/or    -   ▪ When the UI is focused for user interaction at the user's        request.

When the AC traffic status changes as described in connection with theembodiment 5, more specifically:

-   -   ▪ When the AC detects transmission of traffic to the EAS;    -   ▪ When the AC transmits a DNS query to send traffic to the EAS        or when the AC detects transmission of a DNS query; and/or    -   ▪ When the AC changes from a status in which no traffic is sent        to a status in which traffic is set.

When the EEC 503 transmits the EAS discovery request message to the EES502, the EEC 503 may include an indicator indicating the AC status asdescribed in connection with the fourth embodiment or an AC trafficstatus as described in connection with the fifth embodiment in the EASdiscovery request message and transmit it to the EES 502.

Upon receiving the EAS discovery request message from the EEC 503, theEES 502 performs necessary operations (e.g., operation 519).

According to an embodiment, upon receiving the EAS discovery requestmessage from the EEC 503, the EAS 502 identifies whether the AC IDincluded in the EAS discovery request message or the AC status in the ACprofile meets a designated condition. For example, the EAS 502identifies whether the AC ID included in the EAS discovery requestmessage corresponds to the AC ID or AC profile stored in operation 512.

According to an embodiment, the EES 502 identifies whether the EASdiscovery trigger indicator index is included in the EAS discoveryrequest message and whether there is an operation to be performedaccording to the corresponding EAS discovery trigger indicator index.For example, the EAS 502 may search for a corresponding EAS 501according to the EAS discovery trigger indicator index and perform anoperation for triggering EAS instantiation for the EAS 501 through theorchestrator.

According to an embodiment, the EES 502 may select an EAS IDcorresponding to the AC ID included in the EAS discovery filter and mayperform an operation for triggering dynamic instantiation for the EAS501.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the procedurefor triggering the instantiation of the EAS 501 through the orchestratorfor the EAS 501 corresponding to the AC received from the EEC 503 by theEES 502 may be performed through the information about the AC includedin the registration request message received from the EEC 503. Forexample, after operation 515 of FIG. 5 , the EES 502 determines whetherto scale-in or scale-out for the EAS corresponding to the AC and sends arequest for the determined scale-out or scale-in (e.g., dynamicinstantiation) to the orchestrator. For example, the EES 502 maydetermine EAS instantiation through the following information includedin the registration request message received from the EEC 503:

-   -   An AC ID list;    -   An AC profile list;    -   AC status information or changed AC status information;    -   AC traffic status information or changed AC traffic status        information; and/or    -   A list of AC IDs for which installation of AC was detected in        the EEC 503.

Further, the EES 501 may register or release the context for the EAS 501corresponding to the orchestrator. Upon receiving the request from theEES 501, the orchestrator may determine an operation for creating,adding, deleting, upgrading, or downgrading an EAS entity related to theAC.

Conditions under which status information and a change in statusinformation of a UE app, i.e., an AC, occurs are described in connectionwith an embodiment 4.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a status transition for a UE appstatus according to a user's work according to an embodiment 4 of thepresent disclosure.

The six statuses described in connection with FIG. 6 all denote statusesof an app in the UE, i.e., the AC. In describing the statuses of FIG. 6below, application, AC and UE app, and UE application may beinterchangeably used.

Referring to FIG. 6 , each of the six statuses of the UE app may bedefined as follows.

1) Application unavailable (601) status

This is a status in which no application is installed. In this status,an application may be downloaded from an application store (or playstore). An application downloaded and then installed may transition tothe application available status. When the AC in the applicationavailable status is removed by the UE's operating system, it becomes theapplication unavailable status.

2) Application available (602) status

This is a status in which an application is installed. This status maybe an application inactive status or an application active status. Whenan AC is downloaded and then completely installed on the UE, the ACbecomes the application available status. When the AC is removed, itbecomes the application unavailable status.

3) Application Inactive (603) status (when an application is installedbut is not running)

This is a sub status of the application available status. This is astatus in which an application is installed but is not running. In thisstatus, the application cannot generate traffic. Examples of theapplication inactive status include the following cases:

-   -   A status in which the application has been installed but not        started yet;    -   A status in which the application has been paused by the mobile        operating system or the user; and/or    -   A status in which the application has been terminated by the        mobile operating system or the user.

4) Application active (604) status (application traffic ready status)

This is a sub status of the application available status. In thisstatus, the application is running. After the application is installed,the application starts, transitioning to the application active status.Or the application becomes the active status when the paused applicationis resumed. In the application active status, the application maygenerate application traffic regardless of the user's action.

5) Application active visible (605) status

The application active visible status is a sub status of the applicationactive status. In the application active visible status, the applicationmay be shown to the user, and the application may control userinteraction through a user interface with the user. In the applicationactive visible status, application traffic may be sent to the server orEAS or generated as a result of the user's action. The application mayenter the application active visible status at the same time as theapplication starts in the application inactive status. In theapplication active invisible status, when the application has the rightto control the user interface or is focused, the application maytransition to the active visible status. When the application in theapplication active visible status loses the right to control the userscreen by the operating system or another application, the applicationmay transition to the active invisible status. The application activevisible status may include a status in which a screen for an applicationexists in the foreground.

6) Application active invisible (606) status

This is a sub status of the application active status. In theapplication active invisible status, the application does not have theright to control the user's actions and is not visible to the user. Evenin the application active invisible status, the AC may send or receiveapplication traffic regardless of the user's action. In the applicationactive invisible status, application traffic started in the applicationactive visible status may be continuously transmitted and received. Whenthe application is paused or terminated in the application activeinvisible status, the application may transition to the inactive status.When happening to have the user control right or obtaining theapplication focus in the application active visible status, theapplication may transition to the application active visible status.When losing the focus or the user control right in the applicationactive visible status, the application may transition to the applicationactive invisible status.

The statuses described in connection with FIG. 6 may be described assimilar types of statuses with different names or a combination thereofin describing the main operations described in the present disclosure.

In one embodiment 5 of the present disclosure, conditions under which achange is made to the traffic status information for the UE app or ACand the application traffic status information are described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a status transition for a UE apptraffic status according to an embodiment 5 of the present disclosure.

The statuses described in connection with FIG. 7 all represent trafficstatuses of an app in the UE, that is, an AC. Hereinafter, in describingthe statuses of FIG. 7 , application traffic and AC traffic may beinterchangeably used.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the statuses of the UE app may be defined asfollows.

1) Application unavailable (701) status

This is a status in which no application is installed on the UE. This isthe same status as the application unavailable status of the fourthembodiment. No application traffic occurs in the application unavailablestatus.

2) Application available (702) status

This is a status in which the application is running. This is the samestatus as the application available status of the fourth embodiment.

3) Application inactive (703) status

This is a status in which an application is installed on the UE but isnot running. This is the same status as the application inactive statusof the embodiment 4. In the application inactive status, the applicationcannot generate traffic.

4) Application traffic not-ready (704) status

The application traffic non-ready status is a status in whichapplication traffic cannot be generated and may include an applicationunavailable status and an application inactive status.

5) Application traffic ready (705) status

This is a sub status of the application available status. This is thesame status as the application active status illustrated in theembodiment 4. Since the application is in the running status, theapplication may transmit and receive application traffic at any time,regardless of user actions. In the application inactive status or theapplication traffic not-ready status, the application may start andtransition to the application traffic ready status. When the applicationis paused or terminated in the application traffic ready status, theapplication may transition to the application traffic not-ready statusor the application inactive status. The application traffic ready statusmay have additional sub statuses, e.g., an application traffic dormant,application traffic coming, and application traffic exchanging status.

6) Application traffic dormant (706) status

This is a sub status of the application traffic ready status. Whenapplication traffic starts in the application inactive status or theapplication traffic not-ready status, the application may transition tothe application traffic dormant status. When a DNS query occurs from theAC or a DNS query occurs for the destination EAS in the applicationtraffic dormant status, the application may transition to theapplication traffic coming status. Or, when application traffic (for thedestination EAS) occurs, the application may transition to theapplication traffic exchanging status.

7) Application traffic coming (707) status

This is a sub status of the application traffic ready status. This is astatus in which application traffic is detected to be transmitted,received, or transmitted or received soon. For example, upon detecting aDNS query, the application becomes the application traffic comingstatus. When traffic between the application in the UE and thedestination EAS is not generated during a given time (e.g., 1 second) inthe application traffic coming status, the application may transitionfrom the application traffic coming status to the application trafficdormant status.

8) Application traffic exchanging (708) status

This is a sub status of the application traffic ready status. When theapplication traffic generated from the AC is detected or when generationof application traffic from the AC to the destination EAS is detected,the application traffic dormant status is changed to the applicationtraffic exchange status. Examples of such application traffic mayinclude a message for creating a TCP connection between the applicationin the UE and the destination EAS address and a message for establishingan HTTP connection. When traffic between the application in the UE andthe destination EAS is not generated during a preset time (e.g., 10seconds) in the application traffic exchanging status, the applicationmay transition to the application traffic dormant status. The occurrenceof a DNS query for the destination EAS address does not allow theapplication to transition to the application traffic coming status.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a UE accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8 , a UE 800 may include a transceiver 801 and acontroller 802 to communicate with other entities in the wirelesscommunication system.

The transceiver 801 may transmit and receive signals to/from othernetwork entities, and may include a CP of the UE. The controller 802 maycontrol the transmission and reception of the transceiver and mayinclude an EEC and AC of the UE.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a serveraccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The server of FIG. 9 may correspond to, e.g., an ECS, EAS, EES, basestation, or AMF.

Referring to FIG. 9 , a server 900 communicating with other entities orthe UE in the wireless communication system may include a transceiver901 and a controller 902.

The transceiver 901 may transmit and receive signals to/from othernetwork entities. The controller 902 may control the transceiver 901 andprocess signals transmitted and received.

It should be noted that the configuration views, example views of edgecomputing service providing methods, example views of operationalprocedures, and configuration views of FIGS. 1 to 9 are not intended aslimiting the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, all thecomponents, entities, or operational steps illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9should not be construed as essential components to practice the presentdisclosure, and the disclosure may be rather implemented with only someof the components without departing from the gist of the presentdisclosure.

The above-described operations of the base station or UE may be realizedby equipping a memory device retaining their corresponding codes in thebase station device or any component of the UE device. That is, thecontroller in the eNB or UE may execute the above-described operationsby reading and executing the program codes stored in the memory deviceby a processor or central processing unit (CPU).

As described herein, various components or modules in the entity, UE orbase station device may be operated using a hardware circuit, e.g., acomplementary metal oxide semiconductor-based logic circuit, firmware,software, and/or using a hardware circuit such as a combination ofhardware, firmware, and/or software embedded in a machine-readablemedium. As an example, various electric structures and methods may beexecuted using electric circuits such as transistors, logic gates, orASICs.

Although specific embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed above, various changes may be made thereto without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the scope of the presentdisclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, andshould rather be defined by the following claims and equivalentsthereof.

Although the present disclosure has been described with variousembodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of an edge enabler server (EES), themethod comprising: receiving, from an edge enabler client (EEC) in auser equipment (UE), a request message including an identity of anapplication client (AC) in the UE; identifying an edge applicationserver (EAS) based on the identity of the AC; and transmitting, to theEEC in the UE, a response message including information about the EAS inresponse to the request message.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: triggering an EAS management system to instantiate the EASthat matches with the identity of the AC.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: invoking an application programming interface (API)managing a lifecycle of the EAS; and transmitting information includedin the request message to an EAS management system.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the request message further includes one of informationabout an AC status reporting and information about an AC traffic statusreporting.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, fromthe EAS, a first message requesting for reporting status information forthe AC; storing reporting conditions for reporting the statusinformation for the AC; and transmitting, to the EAS, a second messagein response to the first message.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thetransmitting the second message comprises: determining whether the ACand the status information for the AC match with current statusinformation for the AC; and transmitting, to the EAS, the second messagebased on a result of determination that AC and the status informationfor the AC match with the current status information for the AC.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising: transmitting, to the EEC, areporting subscription request message for status information for theAC, the reporting subscription request message including the reportingconditions for reporting the status information for the AC; andreceiving, from the EEC, the request message based on the reportingconditions.
 8. A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:transmitting, by an edge enabler client (EEC) in the UE, a requestmessage including an identity of an application client (AC) in the UE toan edge enabler server (EES); and receiving, from the EES, a responsemessage including information about an edge application server (EAS),wherein the EAS is identified based on the identity of the AC.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein an EAS management system is triggered toinstantiate the EAS that matches with the identity of the AC.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the request message further includes one ofinformation about an AC status reporting and information about an ACtraffic status reporting.
 11. An edge enabler server (EES), the EEScomprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiverand configured to control to: receive, from an edge enabler client (EEC)in a user equipment (UE), a request message including an identity of anapplication client (AC) in the UE, identify an edge application server(EAS) based on the identity of the AC, and transmit, to the EEC in theUE, a response message including information about the EAS in responseto the request message.
 12. The EES of claim 11, wherein the processoris configured to control to: trigger an EAS management system toinstantiate the EAS that matches with the identity of the AC.
 13. TheEES of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to control to:invoke an application programming interface (API) managing a lifecycleof the EAS, and transmit information included in the request message toan EAS management system.
 14. The EES of claim 11, wherein the requestmessage further includes one of information about an AC status reportingand information about an AC traffic status reporting.
 15. The EES ofclaim 11, wherein the processor is configured to control to: receive,from the EAS, a first message requesting for reporting statusinformation for the AC, store reporting conditions for reporting thestatus information for the AC, and transmit, to the EAS, a secondmessage in response to the first message.
 16. The EES of claim 15,wherein the processor is configured to control to: determine whether theAC and the status information for the AC match with current statusinformation for the AC, and transmit, to the EAS, the second messagebased on a result of determination that AC and the status informationfor the AC match with the current status information for the AC.
 17. TheEES of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to control to:transmit, to the EEC, a reporting subscription request message forstatus information for the AC, the reporting subscription requestmessage including the reporting conditions for reporting the statusinformation for the AC, and receive, from the EEC, the request messagebased on the reporting conditions.
 18. A user equipment (UE), the UEcomprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiverand configured to control to: transmit, by an edge enabler client (EEC)in the UE, a request message including an identity of an applicationclient (AC) in the UE to an edge enabler server (EES), and receive, fromthe EES, a response message including information about an edgeapplication server (EAS), wherein the EAS is identified based on theidentity of the AC.
 19. The UE of claim 18, wherein an EAS managementsystem is triggered to instantiate the EAS that matches with theidentity of the AC.
 20. The UE of claim 18, wherein the request messagefurther includes one of information about an AC status reporting andinformation about an AC traffic status reporting.